%0 Journal Article %T Teenagers* Public Library Needs are Difficult to Determine. A Review of: Howard, V. (2011). What do young teens think about the public library? The Library Quarterly, 81(3), 321-344. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/660134 %A Jason Martin %J Evidence Based Library and Information Practice %D 2012 %I University of Alberta %X Objective 每 To discover the attitudes of twelve to fifteen year-olds toward the public library. Design 每 Mixed methodology consisting of a survey and focus groups. Setting 每 An Eastern Canadian regional municipality. Subjects 每 Twelve to fifteen year-old middle school students. Methods 每 Using a disproportionate stratified sample and multistage clustering, the author mailed 900 surveys to middle school students; 249 surveys were completed and usable. Those students who completed the survey and who also indicated they would be willing to participate in a focus group were randomly selected to participate in nine focus groups with between 7 to 12 students in each group. Main Results 每 Discrepancies exist between the teens* level of satisfaction with the library indicated on the survey (high) and expressed in the focus groups (low). Teens seldom use the public library due to: their non-existent relationship with library staff, although teens who were ※active readers§ used the library more; lack of appealing programs and program promotion; no teen-focused website; poor teen facilities within the library; and an overall failure of the public libraries to include teenagers. Conclusion 每 Public libraries need to be more responsive to teen needs to attract teens to use the library. To uncover these needs, libraries should use mixed methods of discovery. %K Public Library %K Teenagers %K Teen Needs %K Teen Users %U http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/11831/13260